I took my time doing it, but I’ve now unlocked all of the characters in Street Fighter IV other than the (very difficult to unlock) three bosses. I’m glad to have done so, because two of my favorite characters in the game were initially locked: Fei Long and Rose. But here’s my take on each of the six unlockable characters in Street Fighter 4.
Gen can be really fun to play, because he’s got so damn many moves. But that also makes him really hard to play. A lot of his crane style moves border on useless because they’re so slow, do so little damage, and hit in such odd ways. Switching styles to quickly react to an attack is almost a non-option because it takes so long. I like Gen, but aside from Rufus, he’s probably the character in the game I’m worst with.
On the other hand, playing Fei Long again was like putting on an old comfortable pair of shoes. He plays pretty much just the same as he did in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, except his fwd-fierce kick has changed, and he’s gotten that weird chicken wing kick. As soon as I unlocked him, I picked up the character and started playing without much of any practice. I heart Fei Long. The flip-over-your-enemy setup is cool; and by cool, I mean totally sweet.
Sakura has never been one of my favorites. Her special moves – especially the EX versions – make her a force to be reckoned with when played by a player who knows what he’s doing. But personally, I don’t love her.
Dan can be very fun to play. He’s the weakest character in the game. His fireball only goes a couple inches, and it’s pretty amazing how much slower some of his basic moves are as compared to Ken and Ryu. But he’s Dan. He’s supposed to be this way. If you’re used to playing Ken or Ryu and you’re playing against someone who’s not as skilled at the game as you, consider playing Dan. That’s what he’s there for.
Rose is another character that I absolutely love. She’s stronger than I remember from Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, and she’s got incredible range. I’m still finding reflecting fireballs to be very tricky, but some of her combos are very easy and her ultra does tons of damage. It’s safe to say that I’ll be using Rose quite a lot in online matches in the future.
Cammy is another character I couldn’t care much less about. That cannon drill pisses me off when I’m fighting against her, but I have a lot of trouble using it well when I’m playing her. I guess I just don’t care enough to practice with Cammy. She seems largely geared towards adolescent males who enjoy crotch-angle bathing suit shots.
And that wraps up my reviews of the major characters in Street Fighter. Not sure if I’ll ever unlock Akuma, Gouken, or Seth, but if I do, you’ll hear about it here.
